The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is not automatically entitled to attorneys’ fees from parties who sue the agency over rejected patent applications, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday.

In an en banc 7-4 decision the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the PTO could not recoup attorneys’ fees it incurred in a 2013 lawsuit brought by NantKwest Inc. The biotech company claimed the agency erred in denying its patent relating to a cancer treatment.

To read the full story on WestlawNext Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2NPG0gU